Westminster , Colorado -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- It seems like a simple question , but ask Victor Perez and Dulce Garcia what grade they 're in and you wo n't get a traditional answer .

At almost any other school in the country , the 11-year-old friends would be in fifth grade . Not so at Hodgkins Elementary in Westminster , Colorado , where there are no grades and no grade levels . Here , children are grouped together in classes based on their ability , not their age

In literacy class , Victor and Dulce are both in level seven . In math , Victor is in level seven while Dulce is still learning level six .

`` He 's the highest in the class , '' said Dulce , who is proud of her friend 's achievements .

The move to do away with grade levels throughout the Adams County School District began three years ago . Standards-based learning , as it 's called , is founded on the belief that every child learns in different ways and at different speeds . With the school district on an academic watch list , educators here were eager to reverse the slide .

`` Every single student is getting an individualized education , '' said Hodgkins Principal Sarah Gould , who helped usher in the reform at her school two years ago . `` We are giving our kids exactly what they need when they need it . ''

Children work at their own level in each subject and must demonstrate proficiency in various learning targets , achieving a score of 75 % or higher before they 're allowed to move on to the next level .

During a recent visit to Jennifer Gregg 's literacy class , students ranging in age from 8 to 10 were gathered in small groups or working on their own to hit their learning targets . Each table had a basket with books separated into four different reading levels .

Gregg says when she first heard about standards-based learning , she wondered , `` How do you juggle that many levels in one classroom ? ''

Now , she sees the benefits , since students are n't frustrated by work that 's too hard , nor bored with assignments that are too easy .

`` The kids know exactly what they 're working on ... and what they need to do , so it 's very empowering for them , '' she said .

Gregg 's students come to her when they 're ready to take the proficiency test to move to the next level .

`` I do n't know if ` hounding ' is the right word , '' Gregg said , `` but they definitely will let you know ... ` Please sign me up . ' ''

Unlike traditional schools , students at Hodgkins can move up a learning level anytime they 're ready , not just at the end of the year . When a visitor asked who had moved up a level in the 2010-11 school year , almost all hands shot up . A large bulletin board in the hallway displays the smiling faces of nearly 400 students who had changed levels in the month of March .

`` The time is right for a system that focuses on individual students and lets them progress at their own pace , '' said education researcher Robert Marzano , who is helping the district develop standards-based learning , a system that was first introduced in the 1960s . `` The conversation around the country is about that like it 's never been before . ''

The Adams 50 school district is made up of about 10,000 students , mostly from Hispanic families . About 40 % are still learning English . In the last decade , as demographics began to change , standardized test scores fell , leading the district to be placed on an academic watch list .

School board president Vicky Marshall said the district needed something drastic to turn it around . She set out to enlist teachers and parents , aware that without their support , the new system would fail .

High school teachers were among the first to embrace the idea , realizing students would have to have mastered material before moving levels .

Their response , according to Marshall : '' ` You mean , by the time they get to us they 're going to know all ... of the prior material that they should know in biology , in math , in social studies , and I 'm not going to have to spend the first three months of their freshman year figuring out what they do n't know ? ... Wow -- absolutely . ' ''

Parents , however , did have concerns , especially whether there would be a big age range in some classes .

`` We were very quick to say , ` No , we 're not going to have someone with a mustache ... sitting next to a 6 - year-old . ' That 's just not going to happen , '' she said .

Instead , older children at lower levels are given extra help , as they are in traditional middle and high schools .

Standards-based learning in the Adams County School District is currently in place in kindergarten through ninth grade , and will be integrated through all high schools by 2014 . But it 's not for the faint of heart .

This particular approach was developed by the Re-Inventing Schools Coalition , a nonprofit organization that helped turn around a small , struggling school district in Alaska . Students there went from 0 % attending college to nearly 90 % going on to secondary education or the military .

The organization 's executive director , Wendy Battino , said that in order for standards-based learning to work , schools must have strong leadership and shared vision . Of the approximately 300 schools that have attempted to enact this system , Battino said , half have n't been able to stick with it .

`` Superintendents last 2-2 1/2 years on average in this country . It 's really hard to lead systemic change when you have that much turnover , '' Battino said .

Community and school support are critical , she said , `` so when a leader does leave , you have enough shared vision and stakeholder support that they will hold onto this and it wo n't leave , despite the next leader . ''

The message is particularly relevant in Adams County , where the schools superintendent who brought the change recently resigned . And since school board members are are limited to two four-year term limits , the unanimous support may wane if standardized test scores do n't improve . So far , they have n't .

In last years ' CSAP test , only 39 % of Hodgkins ' third - graders tested proficient in reading . That 's 8 % lower than the previous year , before the new system was put in place .

School Board President Vicky Marshall explained that it would take three to five years for any type of major reform to show results .

`` So I would say , if within three to five years we 're not seeing the kind of results that we project , yeah , it probably could be at risk , '' she said .

Principal Gould is quick to point out that the initial drop in test scores was expected , since many kids were placed in lower levels to make up for gaps in their educations .

`` Our hope and goal is that when this year 's test scores come out and the following year 's , that progression will just continue to increase , '' Gould said , adding that test scores do n't paint the whole picture .

Discipline problems , Gould said , have decreased 76 % in the past two years -- a sign , she said , that the system is working .

`` When students are challenged exactly where they need to be , '' she said , `` there 's not a lot of time for students to be messing around in class . ''

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A Colorado school switched to standards-based learning

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It means students learn according to ability , not their age group

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District leaders say it will take 3-5 years to improve test scores